Around the Table

Some of my most favourite memories are centred around the kitchen table. My parents always insisted on having dinner at the table. My parents would cook and my sister’s and I would set the table. We would all talk and joke around and even after the meal was finished, we would still sit and talk more. When we had guests over, we would all converse around the table and eat and laugh until late. The topic of conversation varied, but the food and drink were a constant.

Sometimes when my sister’s and I recall these memories, the conversation always sounds like “Oh remember that time when Mom made that chili,” or “Remember when Nan made her spicy spaghetti and Mom at it and the baby started doing back flips in her stomach?” Most of the stories can be tied back to a table and food. During my second year of university, my roommates and I would sit around the table and eat dinner together. When Hubby would come and visit, this is where we would all sit and drink and laugh.

Now that I have a family of my own, dinner time is such an important of our daily routine. We all eat dinner together, that either Hubby or I have made and sit down as a family and eat together. We talk about each other’s days, what’s the plan for the rest of the evening, anything special or interesting happening, etc. The TV is off, but as a family, we are tuned in.

There is nothing spectacular about our dining table or the kitchen where we prepare our meals, but there have been many memories made at both. Hubby and I love to cook. We make our chicken broth, Hubby is notorious for making big batches of soups, sauces and meatballs and I love to bake breads, roasts and appetizers. We love trying out new recipes and the Princess loves eating them. I hope that when the Princess grows up and has a family of her own, she will carry on and eat dinners at her table and make new memories.

I am very big on family mealtime too. I was talking to some women at Cody’s school the other day about their kids after school activities. I was stressing about how four days a week we have stuff going on until 5pm and how was I going to get dinner on the table at a reasonable time. One of them said that every night during the week they don’t get home until 8pm. I blurted out “then how do you do dinner??” and they both looked at me like I was nuts. They told me that they don’t eat dinner together as a family – they are too busy. I shut my mouth so as not to say something to offend them but, seriously I could not imagine such a schedule.